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LACTATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF AUTUMN- AN D SPRING-CALVING COWS
A t hesis p resented in partial fu lfi llment of the requi rements for the degree of Masters of Agricultu ral Science
in Animal Scie nce at Massey University
James Arthur Maas 1 990
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have made a contribution to this project. The help of each and every individual is appreciated.
Thank you to the laboratory and technical staff at Massey without whom work like this would never come to fruition. Research requi res the effort of many people who must work as team. The chain is o n ly as strong as the weakest link and every job is important. I would like to thank Rosemary
Watson and Ang e la Rowan in the N utrition lab, Margaret Scott, Yvette Cottam and Felicity Jackson in the Physiology lab, and Barry Parlane and Jeff Purchas for their help at the A . P.U. Thank you to the farm staff at Massey No. 1 and No. 4 dai ry farms who were very cooperative, and made the whole project much easier. I am grateful to Dorian Garrick for the statistical assistance.
My sincere thanks to a couple of diligent and dedicated "real Kiwi's" ; Dean Burnham for his conscientious assistance with the shee p , and Murray H unt for your help with the cows and the ability to keep smiling, even at 4 o'clock in the morning!
I have thoroug h ly enjoyed my work with the g raduate students at Massey w ho have come to study from "all fou r corners of the world". In future , distance may separate us, but we will never really be far apart. Thank you to Alison Waters, Gisela Ahlborn-Breier, Carlos Sosa-Ferreyra, Tessa Mathew and Tatsushi l noue for your friendship. A special thanks to Mr. Zhen Zhong Xu from The Peoples Republic of China, and to M r. Ardeshir Nejati from I ran for your friendship, advice , encouragement and academic motivation .
Anothe r g roup o f people, who just happened to b e half way aro u nd the world, were also a big help. Thank you to our friends in Bruce County and my colleagues of the class of "O.A.C. 83". Your letters, phone calls and gifts have been most appreciated.
Thank you to my fami ly for their support and encouragement. Special mention goes to my sister Judith for sending "care" packages, and attending to our business and personal matters in our absence.
'-
The fi nancial assistance of the H. E. Akers, Murray and J . A. Anderson scholarships is g reatfu lly acknowledged.
Thank you to Robert and Karon Farley of Greytown , New Zealand, for providing the motivation to return to New Zealand and a g reat deal of help which made o u r arrival and stay in New Zealand very pleasant.
My wife J acinta has been most supportive, always ready to make personal sacrifices to allow me take up a new challenge. You r
encou ragement, patie nce and understandi ng , particularly when very long hours of wo rk were requi red, allowed me to concentrate o n the job at hand.
Thank you for you r all hard work to help support us fi nancially.
Fi nally I wou ld like to express my most sincere gratitude to my
supervisors G avin Wilson, Stuart McCutcheon, and Gerrad Lynch. You have all bee n a tremendous help from the day I arrived at Massey until completion of the project. Than ks fo r always having an open door, no matte r how trivial the question. I thank you for your enthusiasm, sti mulation, e ncourage ment and understanding. I will e ndeavor to pass these principles on to others.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... . . ... . ... . .... . ... i
LIST OF TABLES ... ... ... . . . ... . .. . . .. . . .... · ··· · · ···· V LIST OF FIGURES . . . ... . . ... . . . ... . ... ... . . ... . . .... . . ... . . . ... viii
LIST O F ABBREVIATIONS ... . . . ... . . . ... . ... . . .. . . . ... . . ... . . ... ix
LEVELS OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE ... . .... . . ... . . . ... . . . .... . . . xi
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION GENERAL OVERVIEW . . ... . ... . .. . . .. . ... ... . ... . . ... . .. . ... . ... 1
NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCTION . ... . . . .. . .. . . ... . . .. . . . ... . . . ... . . . .. 2
RUMEN MODIFIERS ... ... . ... ... ... . . ... . . ... . . . 4
EFFECTS OF RUMEN MODIFIERS ON PRODUCTION ... . . . ... . . . ... 5
1 ) Growi ng beef cattle . . . . ... ... . . . .. . ... . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . 5
2) Lactati ng beef cows ... . . ... . . . ... . . .. . ... . .. . . . .. . . .. . . ... 6
3) Lactati n g dairy cows .. . . .... . . . ... . . .. . . ... . . . .. . . . ... . . ... . . .. . . . 7
NUTRIENT UTILIZATION BY THE DAIRY COW . . .. . ... . . . ... . . .. . . .. . . ... . . . .. 10
MODE OF ACTION OF MONENSIN .... . . . .. . .. . . . ... . . . ... . . ... . .. . . .. . . 1 2 1 ) Mode of action on micro bial cells ... . . . ... . . . .. . . .. . . ... . .. 1 2 2) Rumen system mode of actio n . . . ... ... . . . ... . . . .. . . 1 3 a) Volatile fatty acid production ... . ... . . . .. . . 1 4 b) Gas production ... ... . . . .... . . ... . . . ... . .. . . ... 1 6 c) Protei n utilization ... . . . . ... ... . . . ... . . ... . . . ... 1 6 d) Rumen fill and rate of passage . ... 1 7 e) Voluntary feed intake ... . . . . ... . ... . . . ... 1 9 f) Digestibility modification ... . . ... . .. . . ... . . . ... . ... 20
g) Other responses ... . ... ... . .. . ... 22
3) Monensin Mode of Actio n in Relation to Mi lk Produ ction Responses ... 22
AUTUMN VS SPRING MILK P RODUCTION ... . ... . . . .... 24
APPLICATION OF MONENSIN TO THE NEW ZEALAND SITUATION ... 25
PURP OSE AND SCOPE OF THIS INVESTIGATION . . . . ... . . . ... 26
CHAPTER 11: THE EFFECT OF MONENSIN SODIUM ON LACTATIONAL PER FORMANCE OF AUTUMN- AND SPRING-CALVING COWS
ABSTRACT ... ... . . . . ... . . . ... 28
INTRODUCTION . . . ... . . . .. . . ... . ... . . ... . . ... . .. . . .. . . .. . . . ... 30
MATERIALS AND METHODS . . . .. . . . .. . . ... . . . .. . . ... . . .. . . 32
Experiment 1 : Autumn-calving cows ... . . . ... . . . ... 32
Experiment 2: Sprin g-calving cows ... . .. . . ... 33
Experiment 3 : Sheep fed fresh cut pasture in autumn and spring ... . . ... . . . ... . . ... . . . ... . . . 33
Che mical analyses ... . . . ... ... . ... . .. . . ... 35
Statistical analyses ... . ... ... . . . ... . . ... . . ... . . ... 36
RESULTS ... . . . . ... ... ... . . . . ... 38
Experiment 1: Autu mn calving-cows . . . .. . . ... . . . ... 38
Milk productio n , liveweig ht and condition score ... 38
Plasma hormone and metabolite levels ... . . . ... 42
Experiment 2: Sprin g-calving cows ... ... . . . ... . . . ... . . 45
Milk productio n , liveweig ht and condition score ... . . . ... . . . .. . . . 45
Plasma hormone and metabolite levels . . . ... . . . .. . . . .. . .... . . 50
Experiment 3: Sheep fed fresh cut pasture in autumn and spring ... . . .. . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . 53
Pasture chemical analysis ... . .... . . ... 53
Volu ntary feed i ntake, feed apparent digestibility and nitrogen_ balance ... ... . . ... . ... . ... . ... 53
Rumen volatile fatty acid production . . . ... . . . ... ... 56
Ru men production of lipogenic and glucogenic VFA's ... . .. . .. . . 57
Ru men ammonia level and pH . . . ... . . . .... . . ... ... 59
Plasma hormone and metabolite levels . . . . ... . . . . ... . 60
DISCUSSION . . . ... . . . ... . . . ... . ... . . . ... . . . ... . .... . ... . . 63
R EFERENCES R EFERENCES ... . . . ... ... . . . ... . . . . ... . .. . . ... 71
List of Tables
Table 1 . Significance of effects of monensin treatment, monensi n treatment by age i nteraction, and monensin treatment by time i nteractio n , on milk yield , fat yield, protein yield, liveweight,
V
Page
and condition score of cows, experiment 1 . . . ... . . 39
Table 2. Effects of monensin treatment on fat yields of cows
classified by age group, experiment 1 . .. . . .. . . ... .. . . ... . . .. . . 39
Table 3. Significance of effects of monensin treatment, monensin treatment by age interaction, and monensin treatment by time interactio n , on plasma i nsu li n , g lucose, �-hydroxybutyrate , urea,
and N E FA levels of cows, experiment 1 . . . ... . . ... ... . . ..... . . 42
Table 4. Significance of effects of monensin treatment, mone nsin treatment by age interaction, and monensin treatment by time i nteractio n , on m i lk yield, fat yield, protein yield, liveweight,
and conditio n score of cows, experiment 2 . . . .. . . . .. . . 48
Table 5. Effects of monensi n treatment on milk yields of cows
classified by age group, experi ment 2 . . . .. . . 48
Table 6. Effects of mone nsi n treatment on fat yields of cows
classified by age group, experi ment 2 . .. . . .. . . .. . . 49
Table 7. Effects of monensin treatment on condition score of
cows classified by age group, experiment 2 . .. . . .. . . ... . . . ... ... . . ...... . . .. . . 49
Table 8. Significance of effects of monensin treatment, monensin treatment by age interaction, and monensin treatment by time i nteraction, on p lasma i nsulin, glucose , �-hydroxybutyrate, urea,
and N E FA levels of cows, experiment 2 . . . . ...... . .. . .. . . ... . . . ... . . .. . . ... . . .. . . 50
Table 9. Chemical characteristics of autumn and spring pastu re
fed to sheep, experiment 3 . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ... . . .. . . .. . . 53
Table 1 0. Voluntary feed intake, volu ntary feed intake per unit metabolic liveweight, appare nt digestibility and nitrogen balance in contro l and monensin-treated sheep fed autumn or spring
pastu re, experi ment 3 . . . .. . . 54
Table 1 1 . Sig nificance of effects of season, monensi n treatment and season by monensin treatment i nteraction on voluntary feed i ntake, voluntary feed intake per unit metabolic liveweight,
appare nt digestibi lity, and nitrogen balance in control and m o n ensi n-treated sheep fed cut pasture in autumn and spri ng ,
experiment 3 . ... . . . ... . ... . ... . . . .... 55
Table 1 2. Nitrogen intake, u rinary nitrogen output, and faecal nitrogen output, in control and monensin-treated sheep fed cut
pasture in autu mn and spring, expe riment 3 . . . 55
Table 1 3. Sig nificance of effects of season, monensi n treatment·
and season by monensi n treatment interaction on nitrogen intake, u ri nary nitroge n output and faecal nitrogen output of sheep fed
cut pasture in autu mn and spring, experiment 3 .. . . .. .. . ... . . .... 56
Table 1 4. Ruminal molar proportions of acetic, propionic, butyric and mi nor volati le fatty acids in co ntrol and monensin-treated
sheep fed cut pasture in autumn and spring, experiment 3 . .. . .... .. . ... . .. ... 56
Table 1 5. S ig nificance of effects of season, monensin treatment and season by monensi n treatme nt interaction on molar proportions of acetic, propionic, butyric and minor volatile fatty acids in
control and monensin-treated sheep fed cut pasture i n autu mn and
spring, experi ment 3 . . . .. . . .. . . 57
Table 1 6. Molar proportions of lipogenic (acetic and butyric) and g lucogenic (propionic, iso-butyric, valeric and iso-valeric) VFA's, and the ratio of lipogenic to g lucogenic VFA, in ru men fluid of control and monensin-treated sheep fed cut pasture in
vii
autu mn and spring, experi me nt 3 . .. . . ... . . . ... ... . ... . .. . . .... . ... 58
Table 1 7. Significance of effects of season, monensin treatment and season by monensin treatment interaction o n the rumina!
proportions of lipogenic and g lucogenic VFA and the ratio of lipogenic to glucogenic VFA of control and monensi n-treated
sheep fed cut pasture in autum n and spri ng , experiment 3 . ... . . . .. . . ... 58
Table 1 8. Mean rumi na! ammonia and pH levels of control and monensi n-treated sheep fed cut pasture in autumn and spri ng ,
experiment 3 . . . . ... ... . .. . . ... . . . ... . . . ... . .... . . 59
Table 1 9. Sig nificance of effects of season, monensin treatment and season by monensi n treatment interaction on ru mina! ammonia co ncentration and pH of contro l and monensin-treated sheep fed
cut pasture i n autu mn and spring, experiment 3 . . . .. . . ... . . 59
Table 20. Sig nificance of effects of season, monensin treatment and season by monensin treatme nt i nteraction on plasma i nsulin, g lucose, �-hydroxybutyrate, u rea and N EFA levels of sheep fed
cut pasture in autu mn and spring, experiment 3 . . . . ... ... . . . . .. . . ... . . .. . 60
Table 21 . Mean yield of milk, fat, and protein and the plasma levels of metabolites of the contro l cows in experiment 1
(autum n ) and 2 (spring) . ..... . . ..... . . ... . .... . . ... . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . ... 67
List of Figures
Page
Fi g u re 1 . Yield of milk, fat and protein of contro l and
monensin-treated cows, experiment 1 . . . .. . .. . . .. . . 40
Figure 2. Liveweight and conditi on score of control and
m o n ensi n-treated cows, experiment 1 . . . .. ... . . 41
Figure 3. Plasma insulin and g lucose levels of contro l and
monensi n-treated cows, experiment 1 . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . 43
Figure 4. Plasma �-hydroxybutyrate , urea, and N E FA levels of
control and monensin-treated cows, experime nt 1 . . . .. . . .. . . 44
F i g u re 5. Yie ld of milk, fat and p rotein of control and
monensin-treated cows, experiment 2 . . . .. . . .. . . 46
Figure 6. Liveweig ht and condition score of control and
monensin-treated cows, experiment 2 . . . ... . . . ... . . ... . . ... . . 47
Figure 7. Plasma insulin and g lucose levels of contro l and
mone nsi n-treated cows, expe ri ment 2 . . . .. . . 51
Figu re 8. Plasma �-hydroxybutyrate, urea, and N E FA levels of
control and monensi n-treated cows, experi ment 2 . . . 52
Fig u re 9. Plasma insulin and g lucose levels of control and m o nensin-treated sheep fed autumn pastu re and spring pastu re,
experiment 3 . .. . . .. . . .. .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . ... . . .. .. . ... .. . . 6 1
Figure 1 0. Plasma �-hydroxybutyrate, u rea, and N EFA levels of control m onensin-treated sheep fed autu m n pasture and spring
pastu re, experiment 3 . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . 62
ix
List of Abbreviations
a. m. (ante meridiem) before midday Ac:Pr Acetate :Propionate
ADG average daily gain ANOVA Analysis of Variance A.P.U. Animal Physiology Unit
oc degrees Celsius
D M dry matter
E DTA Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid FCE feed conversion efficiency
;;:: greater than or equal to
g g ram
g g ravity
H + hydrogen ion
h hours
ha hectare
I D i n ner diameter I U international unit
litre
K+ potassium ion
kg kilogram
LCFA long chain fatty acid
� less than or equal to
M Molar
MANOVA Multivariate Analysis of Variance M E metabolisable energy
MJ megajoule
MLW metabolic liveweight
mg milligram
m l mm N N a+
N ADPH N aHC03 N EFA p H p . m . O D VFA VFI v/v w/v
m illilitre millimetre nitrogen sodium ion
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) sodium bicarbonate
non-esterified fatty acid potential hydrogen
(post meridiem) after midday outer diameter
volati le fatty acid voluntary feed intake
u nit volume (of solute) per unit volume (of solvent) unit weight (of solute) per unit volume (of solvent)
LEVELS OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE
NS
+
*
**
***
N ot significant P>0. 1 0 0. 1 0 >
p
> 0.050 .05 >
p
> 0.01 0 . 0 1 >p
> 0.001 0.00 1 > pxi
